What is A ‘Speed Loader’ And Why May Anti-Gunners Demonize It?

Image of a Smith & Wesson revolver with a pair of speed loaders. (Dave Workman)

Get set for the gun prohibition lobby to demonize another firearm accessory that has been mentioned in connection with a pair of high-profile shooting incidents in California.

This could happen because it would distract the public and re-direct the conversation away from the real problem: Gun control has failed, again, to prevent crimes in a state mired in gun control laws that were all pushed as crime prevention measures.

The accessory in question is generically called a “speed loader.” It is a rather innocuous device designed to allow revolver shooters to quickly reload, and they have been around for decades. It was mentioned in a story from NBC about Fresno.

However, because this simple gadget was allegedly used by gunmen in San Bernardino and Fresnorecently, the likelihood has increased that someone in the gun control movement will declare war. Don’t be surprised if anti-gunners compare it to a large-capacity magazine, or misrepresent it in some other way.

A speed loader holds an equal number of cartridges that fit into the cylinder of a double-action revolver with a “swing out” cylinder. For example, if a revolver holds six cartridges, the speed loader holds that number, too. After firing all six, the cylinder is pushed out of the frame to the left side, empty cartridge cases are ejected simultaneously and six fresh rounds are quickly inserted to replace them, thanks to the speed loader.

But like the controversy over so-called “high capacity magazines” (revolvers don’t use them) and “semi-automatic assault weapons” (revolvers are not semi-automatics), these are distractions that steer the spotlight away from an issue gun prohibitionists do not care to face. Decades of increasingly restrictive gun laws don’t keep guns out of the wrong hands, nor have they prevented determined people from committing mayhem.

Fresno murder suspect Kori Ali Muhammad is a convicted felon, barred by state and federal law from firearm possession. Yet he allegedly shot and killed four people; three Tuesday and one last week.

James Holmes, convicted of the mass murder in an Aurora, Colorado theater in 2012, passed multiple background checks. So did Santa Barbara killer Elliot Rodger, who killed three of his victims with a knife before shooting three more with handguns that used California-compliant ten-round magazines.

There is no easy solution to criminal violence involving firearms. But recent history strongly suggests that the answer will not come from the gun control lobby.

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About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is an award-winning career journalist with an expertise in firearms and the outdoors. He is the author of several books dealing with firearms politics. He has a degree in editorial journalism from the University of Washington and is a lifelong Washington resident.